{"id":154512,"date":"2025-11-14T15:17:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T20:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/?p=154512"},"modified":"2025-11-14T15:17:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T20:17:25","slug":"nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/","title":{"rendered":"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/category\/meac\/north-carolina-central-university\/\">North Carolina Central<\/a> has made this short drive plenty of times, but every trip into the Dean Smith Center comes with a chance to make a little history. NCCU (1\u20133) visit No. 18 North Carolina (3\u20130) tonight at 9 p.m. on the ACC Network, stepping into one of college basketball\u2019s loudest stages with momentum\u2014and one of the hottest scorers in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Head coach LeVelle Moton\u2019s squad is coming off its first win of the season, a 77\u201361 victory over Bluefield State fueled by a record-book performance from <strong>Gage Lattimore<\/strong>, who torched the nets for <strong>38 points<\/strong> and <strong>nine three-pointers<\/strong>. That display didn\u2019t just carry NCCU to its first W of the year\u2014Lattimore now sits tied for second all-time in school history for made threes in a game, trailing only Jeremy Ingram\u2019s legendary 2014 outburst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now comes a different type of test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tar-heels-rolling-early-even-with-major-injury\"><strong>Tar Heels Rolling Early, Even With Major Injury<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>UNC is off to a 3\u20130 start\u2014its fourth such start in the last five seasons\u2014with all games played inside the Smith Center. The Tar Heels have already handled Central Arkansas, Kansas, and Radford behind a young, new-look roster that hasn\u2019t missed a beat despite the loss of senior captain <strong>Seth Trimble<\/strong>, who broke a bone in his left forearm on Nov. 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trimble accounted for <strong>nearly 95%<\/strong> of UNC\u2019s returning scoring. Even without him, the newcomers have put the ACC on notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Caleb Wilson<\/strong>, the freshman phenom, has been the Tar Heels\u2019 headliner. He\u2019s averaging <strong>19.7 points<\/strong>, shooting <strong>61%<\/strong> from the floor, and is coming off his first double-double (13 points, 14 rebounds). The national awards have already started piling up.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Henri Veesaar<\/strong>, the 7-footer from Estonia, is shooting <strong>68%<\/strong>, scoring <strong>17.3 per game<\/strong>, and is coming off a 20-piece against Kansas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Luka Bogavac<\/strong> and <strong>Jarin Stevenson<\/strong> round out a starting five that features <em>zero<\/em> returning UNC starters from last season.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>UNC will try to move to 4\u20130 and inch closer to two major milestones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>2,400 all-time wins<\/strong> (only Kentucky and Kansas have hit that mark)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>500 wins in Smith Center history<\/strong> (they\u2019re eight away)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Tar Heels haven\u2019t lost to an in-state, non-ACC team since the Reagan administration, winning <strong>50 straight<\/strong> such matchups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-nccu-brings-to-the-floor\"><strong>What NCCU Brings to the Floor<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>While UNC retools with star freshmen and Power Five size, NCCU arrives with three key calling cards:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-gage-lattimore-a-microwave-scorer\"><strong>1. Gage Lattimore, a Microwave Scorer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>He enters tonight:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>No. 1 in the MEAC<\/strong> in scoring (24.0 ppg)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>No. 1 in MEAC<\/strong> three-point percentage (62%)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fresh off a career night that nearly tied a school record<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s the type of shooter who can keep the Eagles in it even when UNC goes on a run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-signature-moton-defense\"><strong>2. Signature Moton Defense<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>NCCU has finished <strong>Top 15 nationally in turnovers forced<\/strong> in four of the last six seasons. That trend is alive again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Eagles force <strong>16.0 turnovers per game<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dionte Johnson is tied for <strong>2nd in the MEAC<\/strong> at <strong>3.5 steals per game<\/strong>, including <strong>seven<\/strong> in Wednesday\u2019s win<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If NCCU disrupts UNC\u2019s young ballhandlers, this game could get interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-meac-s-top-rebounder\"><strong>3. MEAC\u2019s Top Rebounder<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Forward <strong>Khouri Carvey<\/strong> is controlling the glass at <strong>9.5 rebounds per game<\/strong> and is coming off his second double-double of the year (21 &amp; 10). Against UNC\u2019s frontline, he\u2019s going to be asked to do grown-man work on the boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-look-back-nearly-an-upset-in-2020\"><strong>A Look Back: Nearly an Upset in 2020<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>The last time these two programs met\u2014December 2020\u2014NCCU <strong>led by 11<\/strong> in the first half and pushed UNC deep into the second half before falling 73\u201367. CJ Keyser dropped 19 that day. Moton\u2019s teams have never been intimidated by the logo on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tonight, they get another shot on a bigger stage and against a ranked team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRCdzKOEdqu\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRCdzKOEdqu\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/blockquote><script async src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-game-within-the-game\"><strong>Game Within the Game<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-can-unc-handle-the-pressure\"><strong>Can UNC Handle the Pressure?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>UNC has turned it over 44 times in its first three games. NCCU thrives in chaotic games\u2014it might have to turn this into a turnover-fest to pull the upset bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-can-nccu-keep-the-three-point-magic-alive\"><strong>Can NCCU Keep the Three-Point Magic Alive?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lattimore won\u2019t go 9-for-12 again\u2026 probably. But if he hits early, UNC\u2019s freshmen may have to react to playing in their first \u201cdon\u2019t-get-embarrassed-by-an-instate-team\u201d pressure moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-can-carvey-handle-the-tar-heel-frontcourt\"><strong>Can Carvey Handle the Tar Heel Frontcourt?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilson + Veesaar + Stevenson on the boards is a tall task\u2014literally. If NCCU gets dominated in the paint, it could be a long night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DNfw8VKR2dz\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DNfw8VKR2dz\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/blockquote><script async src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hbcu-basketball-on-large-platform\"><strong>HBCU basketball on large platform<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>This game gives NCCU another national platform\u2014primetime ACC Network, a ranked opponent, and a chance for the MEAC to show what it does best: <strong>defend, grind, and make you uncomfortable.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LeVelle Moton is no stranger to these moments. His teams have played No. 1 Kansas, No. 18 Virginia, and now No. 18 UNC\u2014all in the last four seasons. A performance tonight won\u2019t just impact NCCU\u2019s confidence\u2014it could set the tone for the entire MEAC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And with one of the hottest scorers in America wearing maroon and gray right now, the Eagles walk into Chapel Hill with more than just hope\u2014they\u2019ve got weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-prediction\"><strong>Prediction<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>UNC has more size, more depth, and home-court comfort. But NCCU has a puncher\u2019s chance <strong>if<\/strong> it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Forces turnovers early<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gets Lattimore loose beyond the arc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keeps the rebounding margin manageable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>UNC should be favored, but if Central comes out flying, don\u2019t be surprised if this one gets uncomfortable late.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Eagles will make a short trip for one of their toughest matchups of the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":154513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ml_titleColor":"#000000","_ml_titleFont":"Roboto","_ml_titleFontSize":1.136,"_ml_titleFontWeight":"400","_ml_titleLineHeight":1.3,"_ml_metaColor":"#708090","_ml_metaFont":"Montserrat","_ml_metaFontSize":0.6785,"_ml_metaFontWeight":"400","_ml_metaLineHeight":0.92,"_ml_bodyColor":"#a9a9a9","_ml_bodyFont":"Open Sans","_ml_bodyFontSize":0.85,"_ml_bodyFontWeight":"400","_ml_bodyLineHeight":1.2,"_ml_wooPriceColor":"#666","_ml_wooPriceFont":"Open Sans","_ml_wooPriceFontSize":0.9,"_ml_wooPriceFontWeight":"400","_ml_wooPriceLineHeight":1.27,"_ml_headingColor":"#000","_ml_headingFont":"Merriweather","_ml_headingFontSize":2.02,"_ml_headingFontWeight":"700","_ml_headingLineHeight":1.47,"_mlglobal_userfontcolors":{"headingColorUser":[],"titleColorUser":[],"metaColorUser":[],"bodyColorUser":[],"wooPriceColorUser":[]},"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[573627592],"tags":[573633716,573633618,573627544,244895,27546216,811699,37141,201664104,11287560,573629716,54701],"class_list":["post-154512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-carolina-central-university","tag-acc","tag-acc-basketball","tag-featured","tag-hbcu","tag-levelle-moton","tag-meac","tag-nccu","tag-nccu-basketball","tag-north-carolina-central","tag-tar-heels","tag-unc"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v24.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC - HBCU Gameday<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NCCU faces No. 18 North Carolina tonight in ACC hoops. Will the Eagles continue their winning momentum on the court against the UNC Tar Heels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NCCU faces No. 18 North Carolina tonight in ACC hoops. Will the Eagles continue their winning momentum on the court against the UNC Tar Heels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HBCU Gameday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hbcugameday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-14T20:17:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-14T20:17:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1313\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"868\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tolly Carr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HBCUGameday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@HBCUGameday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tolly Carr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tolly Carr\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4c4ef1cbd0805d2648b1b9858db5e259\"},\"headline\":\"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-14T20:17:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-14T20:17:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/\"},\"wordCount\":889,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ACC\",\"ACC basketball\",\"featured\",\"HBCU\",\"LeVelle Moton\",\"MEAC\",\"NCCU\",\"NCCU Basketball\",\"North Carolina Central\",\"tar heels\",\"UNC\"],\"articleSection\":[\"North Carolina Central University\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/\",\"name\":\"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC - HBCU Gameday\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-14T20:17:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-14T20:17:25+00:00\",\"description\":\"NCCU faces No. 18 North Carolina tonight in ACC hoops. Will the Eagles continue their winning momentum on the court against the UNC Tar Heels\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg\",\"width\":1313,\"height\":868,\"caption\":\"NCCU Mens Basketball headed down to UNC\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/\",\"name\":\"HBCU Gameday\",\"description\":\"The leader in HBCU Sports and Culture.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"HBCU Gameday\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gameday-site-identify.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gameday-site-identify.jpg\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"HBCU Gameday\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hbcugameday\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/HBCUGameday\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hbcugameday\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCoMv284iYWxL3JSY-9agY2w\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4c4ef1cbd0805d2648b1b9858db5e259\",\"name\":\"Tolly Carr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/73b732fdc4d3761be56169ede0910b7c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/73b732fdc4d3761be56169ede0910b7c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tolly Carr\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/author\/tolly74\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC - HBCU Gameday","description":"NCCU faces No. 18 North Carolina tonight in ACC hoops. Will the Eagles continue their winning momentum on the court against the UNC Tar Heels","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC","og_description":"NCCU faces No. 18 North Carolina tonight in ACC hoops. Will the Eagles continue their winning momentum on the court against the UNC Tar Heels","og_url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/","og_site_name":"HBCU Gameday","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hbcugameday\/","article_published_time":"2025-11-14T20:17:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-14T20:17:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1313,"height":868,"url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tolly Carr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@HBCUGameday","twitter_site":"@HBCUGameday","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tolly Carr","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/"},"author":{"name":"Tolly Carr","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4c4ef1cbd0805d2648b1b9858db5e259"},"headline":"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC","datePublished":"2025-11-14T20:17:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-14T20:17:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/"},"wordCount":889,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg","keywords":["ACC","ACC basketball","featured","HBCU","LeVelle Moton","MEAC","NCCU","NCCU Basketball","North Carolina Central","tar heels","UNC"],"articleSection":["North Carolina Central University"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/","url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/","name":"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC - HBCU Gameday","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-14T20:17:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-14T20:17:25+00:00","description":"NCCU faces No. 18 North Carolina tonight in ACC hoops. Will the Eagles continue their winning momentum on the court against the UNC Tar Heels","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg","width":1313,"height":868,"caption":"NCCU Mens Basketball headed down to UNC"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/","name":"HBCU Gameday","description":"The leader in HBCU Sports and Culture.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#organization","name":"HBCU Gameday","url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gameday-site-identify.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gameday-site-identify.jpg","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"HBCU Gameday"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hbcugameday\/","https:\/\/x.com\/HBCUGameday","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hbcugameday\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCoMv284iYWxL3JSY-9agY2w"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4c4ef1cbd0805d2648b1b9858db5e259","name":"Tolly Carr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/73b732fdc4d3761be56169ede0910b7c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/73b732fdc4d3761be56169ede0910b7c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Tolly Carr"},"url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/author\/tolly74\/"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC","url":"http:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/14\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg"},"articleSection":"North Carolina Central University","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tolly Carr"}],"creator":["Tolly Carr"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"HBCU Gameday","logo":""},"keywords":["acc","acc basketball","featured","hbcu","levelle moton","meac","nccu","nccu basketball","north carolina central","tar heels","unc"],"dateCreated":"2025-11-14T20:17:24Z","datePublished":"2025-11-14T20:17:24Z","dateModified":"2025-11-14T20:17:25Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"NCCU basketball ready to square off against UNC\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/hbcugameday.com\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/14\\\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/hbcugameday.com\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/14\\\/nccu-basketball-ready-to-square-off-against-unc\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbcugameday.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbcugameday.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg\"},\"articleSection\":\"North Carolina Central University\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Tolly Carr\"}],\"creator\":[\"Tolly Carr\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"HBCU Gameday\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"acc\",\"acc basketball\",\"featured\",\"hbcu\",\"levelle moton\",\"meac\",\"nccu\",\"nccu basketball\",\"north carolina central\",\"tar heels\",\"unc\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2025-11-14T20:17:24Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-14T20:17:24Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-14T20:17:25Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/hbcugameday.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NCCU-Mens-Basketball-headed-down-to-UNC.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":146685,"url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/06\/23\/acc-trio-power-four-squads-double-hbcus-revenue\/","url_meta":{"origin":154512,"position":0},"title":"ACC trio, Power Four squads double HBCU&#8217;s revenue","author":"Steven J. Gaither","date":"June 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This HBCU will play three ACC teams as well as other Power Four programs and double its revenue.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;MEAC&quot;","block_context":{"text":"MEAC","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/category\/meac\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/nccu-vs-unc-FEAT-IMG.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/nccu-vs-unc-FEAT-IMG.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/nccu-vs-unc-FEAT-IMG.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/nccu-vs-unc-FEAT-IMG.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/nccu-vs-unc-FEAT-IMG.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":125912,"url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2024\/04\/01\/nc-state-can-borrow-why-not-us-for-final-four-run-but\/","url_meta":{"origin":154512,"position":1},"title":"NC State can borrow &#8216;why not us&#8217; for Final Four run, but","author":"Steven J. Gaither","date":"April 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"NC State's remarkable Final Four run receives national attention. NCCU's coach addresses NC State's use of it's rallying cry.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2023-2024 HBCU Basketball&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2023-2024 HBCU Basketball","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/category\/basketball\/2023-2024-basketball\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LevelleWhyNot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LevelleWhyNot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LevelleWhyNot.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LevelleWhyNot.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LevelleWhyNot.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":153198,"url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/10\/18\/hbcu-hoops-coach-honored-with-his-own-throwback-jersey\/","url_meta":{"origin":154512,"position":2},"title":"HBCU hoops coach honored with his own throwback jersey","author":"Tolly Carr","date":"October 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The iconic HBCU jersey of LeVelle Moton is now for sale.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;North Carolina Central University&quot;","block_context":{"text":"North Carolina Central University","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/category\/meac\/north-carolina-central-university\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NCCU Coach LeVelle Moton HBCU","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/HBCU-Jersey-LeVelle-Moton.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/HBCU-Jersey-LeVelle-Moton.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/HBCU-Jersey-LeVelle-Moton.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/HBCU-Jersey-LeVelle-Moton.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/HBCU-Jersey-LeVelle-Moton.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114990,"url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2023\/10\/30\/nccu-basketball-has-the-juice-with-epic-schedule-reveal\/","url_meta":{"origin":154512,"position":3},"title":"NCCU basketball has the Juice with epic schedule reveal","author":"HBCU Gameday Newswire","date":"October 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Eagles and head coach LeVelle Moton have announced their 2023-2024 schedule with a creative flip of a classic 90's movie poster.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2023-2024 HBCU Basketball&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2023-2024 HBCU Basketball","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/category\/basketball\/2023-2024-basketball\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/nccu-juice.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/nccu-juice.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/nccu-juice.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/nccu-juice.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/nccu-juice.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":118278,"url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2023\/12\/16\/north-carolina-central-win-sets-new-record-for-levelle-moton\/","url_meta":{"origin":154512,"position":4},"title":"North Carolina Central win sets new record for Levelle Moton","author":"HBCU Gameday Newswire","date":"December 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"North Carolina Central made easy work of St. Andrews, coming up with a landmark win for head coach LeVelle Moton.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;MEAC&quot;","block_context":{"text":"MEAC","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/category\/meac\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":146645,"url":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/06\/22\/acc-hoops-squad-will-reportedly-host-local-hbcu-in-opener\/","url_meta":{"origin":154512,"position":5},"title":"ACC Hoops Squad Will Reportedly Host Local HBCU in Opener","author":"Wali Pitt","date":"June 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"NC State may kick off the Will Wade era with a high-stakes game vs. HBCU powerhouse NC Central. Can LeVelle Moton repeat his 2013 upset?","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2024-2025 HBCU Basketball&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2024-2025 HBCU Basketball","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/category\/basketball\/2024-2025-basketball\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/moton-ncstate-feat-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/moton-ncstate-feat-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/moton-ncstate-feat-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/moton-ncstate-feat-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/moton-ncstate-feat-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfOCUc-Ec8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154512"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154514,"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154512\/revisions\/154514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}